5/6/12

You say...what?



I have had many, many different kinds of Chicken, but never DIESEL FRIED CHICKEN!!!  Can you imagine?  Yuk!!!  Of course, they really didn't mean to say that; they are just selling Pepsi, Diesel fuel and Fried Chicken, but if you look at it quickly, it says it.  Once said, it leaves an impression and you can't take it back.  Words you speak are like that too; once said they echo forever.  Oh, I wish I could take back some of the things I have said during the course of my life, but, it is what it is!!  The thing is... words reveal where your heart is and that is important...


Matthew Chapter 12

 30 “He who is not with me is against me, and he who doesn’t gather with me, scatters.  31 Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven men.  32 Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it will be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it will not be forgiven him, neither in this age, nor in that which is to come.

  33 “Either make the tree good, and its fruit good, or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its fruit.  34 You offspring of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak good things? For out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.  35 The good man out of his good treasure brings out good things, and the evil man out of his evil treasure*n4 brings out evil things.  36 I tell you that every idle word that men speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment.  37 For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”"

Jesus healed a blind and mute man and the Pharisees said he did it by the power of Beelzebul (the devil).  Jesus labels this comment as unforgivable sin.  Furthermore, it was a sign of their heart and they would have to pay for it someday (in the final judgment).  So, a person's words are one of the signs of how they will be judged in the last day.  May we all be as innocent as the one who wrote the sign because what we say can be very, very dangerous!!!



May 6 Deuteronomy 27, 28


May 6
Deuteronomy 27, 28

Deu 27:1 Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, Keep all the commandment which I command you this day.
Deu 27:2 It shall be on the day when you shall pass over the Jordan to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, that you shall set yourself up great stones, and plaster them with plaster:
Deu 27:3 and you shall write on them all the words of this law, when you have passed over; that you may go in to the land which Yahweh your God gives you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as Yahweh, the God of your fathers, has promised you.
Deu 27:4 It shall be, when you have passed over the Jordan, that you shall set up these stones, which I command you this day, in Mount Ebal, and you shall plaster them with plaster.
Deu 27:5 There you shall build an altar to Yahweh your God, an altar of stones: you shall lift up no iron tool on them.
Deu 27:6 You shall build the altar of Yahweh your God of uncut stones; and you shall offer burnt offerings thereon to Yahweh your God:
Deu 27:7 and you shall sacrifice peace offerings, and shall eat there; and you shall rejoice before Yahweh your God.
Deu 27:8 You shall write on the stones all the words of this law very plainly.
Deu 27:9 Moses and the priests the Levites spoke to all Israel, saying, Keep silence, and listen, Israel: this day you have become the people of Yahweh your God.
Deu 27:10 You shall therefore obey the voice of Yahweh your God, and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command you this day.
Deu 27:11 Moses commanded the people the same day, saying,
Deu 27:12 These shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people, when you have passed over the Jordan: Simeon, and Levi, and Judah, and Issachar, and Joseph, and Benjamin.
Deu 27:13 These shall stand on Mount Ebal for the curse: Reuben, Gad, and Asher, and Zebulun, Dan, and Naphtali.
Deu 27:14 The Levites shall answer, and tell all the men of Israel with a loud voice,
Deu 27:15 Cursed be the man who makes an engraved or molten image, an abomination to Yahweh, the work of the hands of the craftsman, and sets it up in secret. All the people shall answer and say, Amen.
Deu 27:16 Cursed be he who sets light by his father or his mother. All the people shall say, Amen.
Deu 27:17 Cursed be he who removes his neighbor's landmark. All the people shall say, Amen.
Deu 27:18 Cursed be he who makes the blind to wander out of the way. All the people shall say, Amen.
Deu 27:19 Cursed be he who wrests the justice due to the foreigner, fatherless, and widow. All the people shall say, Amen.
Deu 27:20 Cursed be he who lies with his father's wife, because he has uncovered his father's skirt. All the people shall say, Amen.
Deu 27:21 Cursed be he who lies with any manner of animal. All the people shall say, Amen.
Deu 27:22 Cursed be he who lies with his sister, the daughter of his father, or the daughter of his mother. All the people shall say, Amen.
Deu 27:23 Cursed be he who lies with his mother-in-law. All the people shall say, Amen.
Deu 27:24 Cursed be he who strikes his neighbor in secret. All the people shall say, Amen.
Deu 27:25 Cursed be he who takes a bribe to kill an innocent person. All the people shall say, Amen.
Deu 27:26 Cursed be he who doesn't confirm the words of this law to do them. All the people shall say, Amen.
Deu 28:1 It shall happen, if you shall listen diligently to the voice of Yahweh your God, to observe to do all his commandments which I command you this day, that Yahweh your God will set you on high above all the nations of the earth:
Deu 28:2 and all these blessings shall come on you, and overtake you, if you shall listen to the voice of Yahweh your God.
Deu 28:3 You shall be blessed in the city, and you shall be blessed in the field.
Deu 28:4 You shall be blessed in the fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the fruit of your animals, the increase of your livestock, and the young of your flock.
Deu 28:5 Your basket and your kneading trough shall be blessed.
Deu 28:6 You shall be blessed when you come in, and you shall be blessed when you go out.
Deu 28:7 Yahweh will cause your enemies who rise up against you to be struck before you. They will come out against you one way, and will flee before you seven ways.
Deu 28:8 Yahweh will command the blessing on you in your barns, and in all that you put your hand to; and he will bless you in the land which Yahweh your God gives you.
Deu 28:9 Yahweh will establish you for a holy people to himself, as he has sworn to you; if you shall keep the commandments of Yahweh your God, and walk in his ways.
Deu 28:10 All the peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of Yahweh; and they shall be afraid of you.
Deu 28:11 Yahweh will make you plenteous for good, in the fruit of your body, and in the fruit of your livestock, and in the fruit of your ground, in the land which Yahweh swore to your fathers to give you.
Deu 28:12 Yahweh will open to you his good treasure in the sky, to give the rain of your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand: and you shall lend to many nations, and you shall not borrow.
Deu 28:13 Yahweh will make you the head, and not the tail; and you shall be above only, and you shall not be beneath; if you shall listen to the commandments of Yahweh your God, which I command you this day, to observe and to do them,
Deu 28:14 and shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you this day, to the right hand, or to the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
Deu 28:15 But it shall come to pass, if you will not listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to observe to do all his commandments and his statutes which I command you this day, that all these curses shall come on you, and overtake you.
Deu 28:16 You shall be cursed in the city, and you shall be cursed in the field.
Deu 28:17 Your basket and your kneading trough shall be cursed.
Deu 28:18 The fruit of your body, the fruit of your ground, the increase of your livestock, and the young of your flock shall be cursed.
Deu 28:19 You shall be cursed when you come in, and you shall be cursed when you go out.
Deu 28:20 Yahweh will send on you cursing, confusion, and rebuke, in all that you put your hand to do, until you are destroyed, and until you perish quickly; because of the evil of your doings, by which you have forsaken me.
Deu 28:21 Yahweh will make the pestilence cling to you, until he has consumed you from off the land, where you go in to possess it.
Deu 28:22 Yahweh will strike you with consumption, and with fever, and with inflammation, and with fiery heat, and with the sword, and with blight, and with mildew; and they shall pursue you until you perish.
Deu 28:23 Your sky that is over your head shall be brass, and the earth that is under you shall be iron.
Deu 28:24 Yahweh will make the rain of your land powder and dust: from the sky shall it come down on you, until you are destroyed.
Deu 28:25 Yahweh will cause you to be struck before your enemies; you shall go out one way against them, and shall flee seven ways before them: and you shall be tossed back and forth among all the kingdoms of the earth.
Deu 28:26 Your dead body shall be food to all birds of the sky, and to the animals of the earth; and there shall be none to frighten them away.
Deu 28:27 Yahweh will strike you with the boil of Egypt, and with the tumors, and with the scurvy, and with the itch, of which you can not be healed.
Deu 28:28 Yahweh will strike you with madness, and with blindness, and with astonishment of heart;
Deu 28:29 and you shall grope at noonday, as the blind gropes in darkness, and you shall not prosper in your ways: and you shall be only oppressed and robbed always, and there shall be none to save you.
Deu 28:30 You shall betroth a wife, and another man shall lie with her: you shall build a house, and you shall not dwell therein: you shall plant a vineyard, and shall not use its fruit.
Deu 28:31 Your ox shall be slain before your eyes, and you shall not eat of it: your donkey shall be violently taken away from before your face, and shall not be restored to you: your sheep shall be given to your enemies, and you shall have none to save you.
Deu 28:32 Your sons and your daughters shall be given to another people; and your eyes shall look, and fail with longing for them all the day: and there shall be nothing in the power of your hand.
Deu 28:33 The fruit of your ground, and all your labors, shall a nation which you don't know eat up; and you shall be only oppressed and crushed always;
Deu 28:34 so that you shall be mad for the sight of your eyes which you shall see.
Deu 28:35 Yahweh will strike you in the knees, and in the legs, with a sore boil, of which you can not be healed, from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head.
Deu 28:36 Yahweh will bring you, and your king whom you shall set over you, to a nation that you have not known, you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods, wood and stone.
Deu 28:37 You shall become an astonishment, a proverb, and a byword, among all the peoples where Yahweh shall lead you away.
Deu 28:38 You shall carry much seed out into the field, and shall gather little in; for the locust shall consume it.
Deu 28:39 You shall plant vineyards and dress them, but you shall neither drink of the wine, nor gather the grapes; for the worm shall eat them.
Deu 28:40 You shall have olive trees throughout all your borders, but you shall not anoint yourself with the oil; for your olive shall cast its fruit.
Deu 28:41 You shall father sons and daughters, but they shall not be yours; for they shall go into captivity.
Deu 28:42 All your trees and the fruit of your ground shall the locust possess.
Deu 28:43 The foreigner who is in the midst of you shall mount up above you higher and higher; and you shall come down lower and lower.
Deu 28:44 He shall lend to you, and you shall not lend to him: he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail.
Deu 28:45 All these curses shall come on you, and shall pursue you, and overtake you, until you are destroyed; because you didn't listen to the voice of Yahweh your God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which he commanded you:
Deu 28:46 and they shall be on you for a sign and for a wonder, and on your seed forever.
Deu 28:47 Because you didn't serve Yahweh your God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, by reason of the abundance of all things;
Deu 28:48 therefore you shall serve your enemies whom Yahweh shall send against you, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all things: and he shall put a yoke of iron on your neck, until he has destroyed you.
Deu 28:49 Yahweh will bring a nation against you from far, from the end of the earth, as the eagle flies; a nation whose language you shall not understand;
Deu 28:50 a nation of fierce facial expressions, that shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favor to the young,
Deu 28:51 and shall eat the fruit of your livestock, and the fruit of your ground, until you are destroyed; that also shall not leave you grain, new wine, or oil, the increase of your livestock, or the young of your flock, until they have caused you to perish.
Deu 28:52 They shall besiege you in all your gates, until your high and fortified walls come down, in which you trusted, throughout all your land; and they shall besiege you in all your gates throughout all your land, which Yahweh your God has given you.
Deu 28:53 You shall eat the fruit of your own body, the flesh of your sons and of your daughters, whom Yahweh your God has given you, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemies shall distress you.
Deu 28:54 The man who is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of his children whom he has remaining;
Deu 28:55 so that he will not give to any of them of the flesh of his children whom he shall eat, because he has nothing left him, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in all your gates.
Deu 28:56 The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot on the ground for delicateness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter,
Deu 28:57 and toward her young one who comes out from between her feet, and toward her children whom she shall bear; for she shall eat them for want of all things secretly, in the siege and in the distress with which your enemy shall distress you in your gates.
Deu 28:58 If you will not observe to do all the words of this law that are written in this book, that you may fear this glorious and fearful name, YAHWEH YOUR GOD;
Deu 28:59 then Yahweh will make your plagues wonderful, and the plagues of your seed, even great plagues, and of long continuance, and sore sicknesses, and of long continuance.
Deu 28:60 He will bring on you again all the diseases of Egypt, which you were afraid of; and they shall cling to you.
Deu 28:61 Also every sickness, and every plague, which is not written in the book of this law, Yahweh will bring them on you, until you are destroyed.
Deu 28:62 You shall be left few in number, whereas you were as the stars of the sky for multitude; because you didn't listen to the voice of Yahweh your God.
Deu 28:63 It shall happen that as Yahweh rejoiced over you to do you good, and to multiply you, so Yahweh will rejoice over you to cause you to perish, and to destroy you; and you shall be plucked from off the land where you go in to possess it.
Deu 28:64 Yahweh will scatter you among all peoples, from the one end of the earth even to the other end of the earth; and there you shall serve other gods, which you have not known, you nor your fathers, even wood and stone.
Deu 28:65 Among these nations you shall find no ease, and there shall be no rest for the sole of your foot: but Yahweh will give you there a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and pining of soul;
Deu 28:66 and your life shall hang in doubt before you; and you shall fear night and day, and shall have no assurance of your life.
Deu 28:67 In the morning you shall say, Would it were evening! and at evening you shall say, Would it were morning! for the fear of your heart which you shall fear, and for the sight of your eyes which you shall see.
Deu 28:68 Yahweh will bring you into Egypt again with ships, by the way of which I said to you, You shall see it no more again: and there you shall sell yourselves to your enemies for bondservants and for bondmaids, and no man shall buy you.

May 6, 7 Luke 20


May 6, 7
Luke 20

Luk 20:1 It happened on one of those days, as he was teaching the people in the temple and preaching the Good News, that the priests and scribes came to him with the elders.
Luk 20:2 They asked him, "Tell us: by what authority do you do these things? Or who is giving you this authority?"
Luk 20:3 He answered them, "I also will ask you one question. Tell me:
Luk 20:4 the baptism of John, was it from heaven, or from men?"
Luk 20:5 They reasoned with themselves, saying, "If we say, 'From heaven,' he will say, 'Why didn't you believe him?'
Luk 20:6 But if we say, 'From men,' all the people will stone us, for they are persuaded that John was a prophet."
Luk 20:7 They answered that they didn't know where it was from.
Luk 20:8 Jesus said to them, "Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things."
Luk 20:9 He began to tell the people this parable. "A man planted a vineyard, and rented it out to some farmers, and went into another country for a long time.
Luk 20:10 At the proper season, he sent a servant to the farmers to collect his share of the fruit of the vineyard. But the farmers beat him, and sent him away empty.
Luk 20:11 He sent yet another servant, and they also beat him, and treated him shamefully, and sent him away empty.
Luk 20:12 He sent yet a third, and they also wounded him, and threw him out.
Luk 20:13 The lord of the vineyard said, 'What shall I do? I will send my beloved son. It may be that seeing him, they will respect him.'
Luk 20:14 "But when the farmers saw him, they reasoned among themselves, saying, 'This is the heir. Come, let's kill him, that the inheritance may be ours.'
Luk 20:15 They threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. What therefore will the lord of the vineyard do to them?
Luk 20:16 He will come and destroy these farmers, and will give the vineyard to others." When they heard it, they said, "May it never be!"
Luk 20:17 But he looked at them, and said, "Then what is this that is written, 'The stone which the builders rejected, the same was made the chief cornerstone?'
Luk 20:18 Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces, but it will crush whomever it falls on to dust."
Luk 20:19 The chief priests and the scribes sought to lay hands on him that very hour, but they feared the people-for they knew he had spoken this parable against them.
Luk 20:20 They watched him, and sent out spies, who pretended to be righteous, that they might trap him in something he said, so as to deliver him up to the power and authority of the governor.
Luk 20:21 They asked him, "Teacher, we know that you say and teach what is right, and aren't partial to anyone, but truly teach the way of God.
Luk 20:22 Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?"
Luk 20:23 But he perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test me?
Luk 20:24 Show me a denarius. Whose image and inscription are on it?" They answered, "Caesar's."
Luk 20:25 He said to them, "Then give to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."
Luk 20:26 They weren't able to trap him in his words before the people. They marveled at his answer, and were silent.
Luk 20:27 Some of the Sadducees came to him, those who deny that there is a resurrection.
Luk 20:28 They asked him, "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up children for his brother.
Luk 20:29 There were therefore seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died childless.
Luk 20:30 The second took her as wife, and he died childless.
Luk 20:31 The third took her, and likewise the seven all left no children, and died.
Luk 20:32 Afterward the woman also died.
Luk 20:33 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them will she be? For the seven had her as a wife."
Luk 20:34 Jesus said to them, "The children of this age marry, and are given in marriage.
Luk 20:35 But those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage.
Luk 20:36 For they can't die any more, for they are like the angels, and are children of God, being children of the resurrection.
Luk 20:37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he called the Lord 'The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'
Luk 20:38 Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all are alive to him."
Luk 20:39 Some of the scribes answered, "Teacher, you speak well."
Luk 20:40 They didn't dare to ask him any more questions.
Luk 20:41 He said to them, "Why do they say that the Christ is David's son?
Luk 20:42 David himself says in the book of Psalms, 'The Lord said to my Lord, "Sit at my right hand,
Luk 20:43 until I make your enemies the footstool of your feet." '
Luk 20:44 "David therefore calls him Lord, so how is he his son?"
Luk 20:45 In the hearing of all the people, he said to his disciples,
Luk 20:46 "Beware of the scribes, who like to walk in long robes, and love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts;
Luk 20:47 who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers: these will receive greater condemnation."

"THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW" Chapter Eighteen by Mark Copeland

                        "THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW"

                            Chapter Eighteen

Answering a question by His disciples, Jesus taught the need for
child-like humility and the danger of offenses to others and to self
(1-9), followed with the parable of the lost sheep (10-14).  Further
instructions included how to deal with a sinning brother (15-20) and the
need for a forgiving heart illustrated by the parable of the unforgiving
servant (21-35).

POINTS TO PONDER

   *  The need for humility, and concern for others in the kingdom

   *  Dealing with a sinning brother, and the importance of forgiveness

REVIEW QUESTIONS

1) What are the main points of this chapter?
   - Kingdom greatness and the danger of offenses - Mt 18:1-9
   - The parable of the lost sheep - Mt 18:10-14
   - Discipline and prayer - Mt 18:15-20
   - The parable of the unforgiving servant - Mt 18:21-35

2) Who will be greatest in the kingdom of heaven? (1-5)
   - Those who are converted and humble themselves like a little child

3) How old was the little child that Jesus used as an example? (6)
   - Old enough to believe, old enough to sin

4) What types of offenses does Jesus warn against? (6-9)
   - Being an offense to believing children, and letting personal
     weakness cause you to sin

5) What parable illustrates the Father’s concern for the lost? (12-14)
   - The parable of the lost sheep

6) In dealing with a sinning brother, what steps should be taken?
   (15-18)
   - Go and tell the brother his fault between you and him alone
   - If that doesn’t work, take one or two more with you to serve as
     witnesses
   - If that doesn’t work, tell it to the church
   - If that doesn’t work, then no longer associate with him

7) What increases the likelihood that God will answer prayer? (19-20)
   - When two or three pray together

8) How many times should we be willing to forgive a brother? (21-22)
   - Up to seventy times seven (490); cf. seven times in one day, Lk
     17:3-4

9) What grave warning is in the parable of the unforgiving servant? (33)
   - "So My heavenly Father also will do to you..."